1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to curable epoxy resins. More particularly, to a novel curing agent, oligomeric poly(ethylenepiperazine).
2. Prior Art
Epoxy resins constitute a broad class of polymeric materials having a wide range of physical characteristics. The resins are characterized by epoxide groups which are cured by reaction with certain catalysts or curing agents to provide cured epoxy resin compositions with certain desirable properties. One such class of curing agents are generally the anhydrides. The most commonly used anhydride curing agents are difunctional materials such as maleic anhydride, phthalic anhydride and the like, as well as tetrafunctional materials such as pyromellitic dianhydride.
Epoxy resin formulations using prior art curing agents usually comprise two components, one containing the epoxy resin and the other containing the curing agent. These must be mixed only when a cured product is desired often by persons unfamiliar with formulating techniques.
A novel epoxy resin curing agent is disclosed herein which can be mixed with the epoxy resin and stored as a one component system. This system can then be cured by the application of heat.
This novel curing agent also accelerates the cure of certain prior art curing agents.
The cured epoxy resin compositions of the instant invention are useful as coatings, castings, and sealants.